While it can be said that beauti- ful wedding photography is beautiful wedding photography regardless of the sexual orientation
of the couple, it cannot always be said
that the process of creating said wedding images is the same. Traditional
wedding posing relies on basic assumptions built around masculine and feminine gender roles, and expectations of
the physical differences between a man
and a woman. Simply put, plugging a
same-sex couple into a pose designed for
an opposite-sex couple could be awkward at best and offensive at worst.

Here are five quick etiquette and posing
tips from The New Art of Capturing
Love: The Essential Guide to Lesbian
and Gay Wedding Photography for
capturing the most authentic portrait
of any couple in love.

1. DON’T ASSUME

Avoid jumping to quick conclusionsabout the couple. Look beyond attireto embrace how each individual andcouple self-identifies. Don’t presumethat in every couple there is a “mascu-line one” and a “feminine one” and thatthey should be assigned to the standardmale/female poses. Get to know thecouple and how they are comfortableexpressing themselves to better under-stand how to pose them.

2. TALK ABOUT PDA

Below: Capturing Love contributing photographer Allana Taranto of Ars Magna Studio
instructs couples by saying, “I want one of you
there and one of you here,” giving couples the
space to fall into positions most comfortable
to them. She lets them show her the dynamic
of their relationship and follows their lead.